The present invention relates to an accumulator configured to be connected to a compressor.
In general, a compressor is a device that receives power from a power generating device, such as an electric motor and a turbine, and compresses air, refrigerant or various other working gasses to increase the pressure thereof. Compressors are commonly used with household and industrial appliances, such as with refrigerators and air conditioners. Compressors may be categorized as reciprocating, rotary, and scroll type.
The reciprocating compressor generally compresses refrigerant while a piston linearly reciprocates in a cylinder so as to form a compression space in which a working gas is suctioned and discharged between the piston and the cylinder.
The rotary compressor has a compression space in which a working gas is suctioned and discharged. The compression space is generally formed between a roller which is eccentrically rotated and a cylinder. The roller is eccentrically rotated along an inner wall of the cylinder to compress the refrigerant.
The scroll compressor has a compression space in which a working gas is suctioned and discharged. The compression space is formed between an orbiting scroll and a fixed scroll. The orbiting scroll rotates about the fixed scroll to compress the refrigerant.
Each of the compressors described above includes an accumulator for receiving a low-temperature and low-pressure gaseous refrigerant. The accumulator is a device for separating liquid refrigerant from the refrigerant introduced from a heat exchanger (e.g., evaporator) and discharging only gaseous refrigerant to the compressor.
Korean Publication No. 10-2011-0095155 discloses a known structure for an accumulator. The accumulator described therein is a structure in which a connection pipe extending from a bottom surface of the accumulator is connected to an outside of a compressor while bending.
However, because the connection pipe must extend from the bottom surface of the accumulator and be connected to an outside of the compressor, the accumulator must be installed above the ground. This is problematic because it increases the overall height of the product, causes additional vibration on the accumulator due to vibration being generated in the compressor, and generates noise.
The present application provides an improved accumulator design and is directed to solving the above described problems.